Social media scrub

Job hunters should do online spring cleaning

If you’re job hunting, especially if you’re a newly minted college graduate, you need to make sure your social media accounts are cleaned up for recruiters.

Facebook is especially important because youmay have aweird Tumblr name or a cutesy Twitter handle, but Facebook is largely real names and it’s widely used. It’s easy for recruiters and hiring managers to find you and take a stroll through your onlineworld.

You have a shiny new degree, an internship or two, and three summers at Burger King. These are all great. But they are also pretty much identical to others who are applying for the same entry-level position. Checking you out to see how you portray yourself online gives recruiters extra insight into you— good or bad.

1. Lock downyour profile.

Your profile should be set to only friends. I shouldn’t be able to see your posts or your friends.

Why hide your friends? Because some of your friends are dumber than a box of hair. While they shouldn’t reflect on you, they might, so why take that risk?

2. Choose your profile picture carefully.

This isn’t Linkedin, so you don’t have to look professional in your pictures. You just need to look like you’re a responsible adult. You can be with your cat. You can be with your boyfriend.

What’s not fine is a picture of you drinking, a political meme (regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on), or a picture where you’re trying to look sexy or shocking. Yes, I know, if you’re graduating fromcollege you’re probably over 21 and a legal drinker. Humor me. Yes, your political beliefs are super important, and youwant everyone to knowwhat you think. Take it down.

Unless you’re applying to partisan organizations, people don’twant to hire someone who makes remarks on social media that might reflect badly on the company. And as for sexy or shocking? If you need me to explain this one, please go visit your 7th-grade principal and ask herwhy.

3. Untag yourself.

If your friends are super responsible people, you don’t have toworry about tagging. But what if they aren’t? If you don’twant it to appear on your timeline and possibly in front of a recruiter’s face, untag yourself.

Should recruiters and hiring managers care about your Facebook page? No. Do they? Some absolutely do. Somake sure that you care about howyou appear as well, or youmay reduce the number of companies that might be interested in interviewing you.

Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corporate human resources, where she hired, fired, managed the numbers and double-checked with the lawyers.